(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Council matters

Council approves alley curfew bylaw

Jun 30, 2020 | 8:09 AM

Prince Albert city council has voted to implement a curfew in the city’s back alleys.

Despite hearing repeated concerns from critics who say the bylaw could contribute to racial profiling and discrimination, the majority of councillors and the Mayor remained firmly behind the measure as a way to reduce property crime and increase public safety.

Alleys are now closed between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. The bylaw includes a number of exemptions, including for people using a rear lane beside their residence. Anyone found in the restricted areas after curfew can be issued a fine of between $500 and $5,000.

Prince Albert parks and walkways are already under a similar curfew.

At the request of Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC), the City has also agreed to revisit the alley bylaw in six months’ time.

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Mayor Greg Dionne told council while an initial meeting to between city representatives and PAGC leadership on the bylaw went well, Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte ultimately told him the PAGC would not endorse the measure.

“They don’t want to give the police any more powers than they already have,” Dionne said, adding that he understood where the PAGC was coming and from and thanked them for their input.

Meanwhile, less than an hour before the start of Monday’s meeting, the PAGC sounded alarm bells over a Facebook video showing an Indigenous man being thrown to the ground during an arrest in Prince Albert. In a media release, they said the video added to their concerns about the bylaw.

If the city’s politicians had seen the video or the media release, there was no mention of it during discussion.

Coun. Terra Lennox-Zepp repeated concerns she’s raised consistently since council began pursuing the bylaw nearly a year ago, telling council the curfew could contribute to racism while doing nothing reduce crime. She suggested the city invest the $20,000 required for signage for the bylaw in proactive crime reduction initiatives instead, and cited the gang reduction strategy currently operating out of the Bernice Sayese Centre as an example.

“People who are going to be doing property crime don’t listen to bylaws anyway, so what is the point of spending this $20,000 with no verifiable evidence,” she questioned. “It’s shown that these types of practices contribute to systemic racism in our communities.”

Coun. Ted Zurakowski told council he would be pleased to have an in-depth conversation about funding crime reduction strategies in the future, but that didn’t change his support for the alley curfew.

“I would welcome that discussion,” he said. “But that doesn’t stop us from this pathway here, both things can be true.”

The Alley Access Bylaw passed 7-2 with only Councillors Terra Lennox-Zepp and Charlene Miller voting against it.

Mayor Greg Dionne declined request for comment.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom